Thriller

The cherry was as sour as Levon’s mood. His mouth welled with juice as he leant against the rusted hulk of his car, his breath billowing in frozen clouds.

The sun was just creeping above the frosted horizon, slowly revealing the pitch-black earth of the fields. Levon remembered days when he would sit with his father and watch the sun rise. Such innocent days when the cherries were still sweet. So long ago.

The trunk of the car rattled and shook. Levon slashed his foot against the metal, barking at the girl to keep quiet.

(c) Tim Austin. Promo image by Jake Malera via Unsplash.

I’m looking for new one word title suggestions: pop your word in the comments below or tweet it to me @timaustin2k using the hashtag #onewordonestory and you could be the inspiration for a 100 word story!

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Danny slammed his foot to the wall, the sole of his shoe scraping the surface into dust as he leapt across the overpass and fell.

His hands struck out, clutching a metal railing: his chest crashed against the concrete wall with a cracking thud. Breathless, he hung there, his eyes closed as he felt only air beneath his feet. Behind him he could hear the jeers and laughter of the Hammond boys, watching from the balcony of the tower block. They wanted him to fall.

A big thank you to award winning and best selling author Jonathan Maberry for suggesting the title of today’s story. Jonathan has done it all: novel writer, editor and comic book writer for both Marvel and Dark Horse,… he’s also a Doctor Who fan, which really puts him in my good books!

If you have a one word title you’d like me to turn into a story, tweet me @timaustin2k using the hashtag #onewordonestory. Don’t forget to follow the blog and like the OWOS Facebook page by clicking here.

Read more stories on the site – there are 27 more! Enjoy and share the stories about and I’ll see you tomorrow for “Violin”.

Earlier in the week I asked you to vote for your favourite story of last week – wow, what an even selection of votes! It was a five way tie for the last 5 days until a last minute vote for “Knife” tipped the balance.

And here it is, as promised: my audio reading of “Knife” – based on the word donated by Mike Wells.

Grinding the blade against the table reminded Sid of school: scratching words into the underside of his desk as his history teacher droned on about the French revolution. The messages he left for her got him expelled. This message would be much worse.

Sid chuckled, sneering as he plunged a ragged full stop into the wood. The breath he used to scatter the splinters was almost tender; a love letter to the detective chasing him.

He laid two severed fingers on the desk and sheathed the knife, three words cut in stark, bloody capitals: “See you Soon.”

(c) Tim Austin 2016

Today’s word, “Knife”, was kindly donated by the wonderful Mike Wells, thriller writer extraordinaire and author of the best-selling Lust, Money and Murder books. Thanks for the inspiration, Mike! You can find him on Twitter @MikeWellsAuthor and at mikewellsbooks.com.

Keep those words coming in – tweet them to #onewordonestory and I’ll join you tomorrow for “Sehnsucht”. Follow the blog for a new story every day!

His heart racing, Philip pressed his ear against the wood. The sob came again: aching and abandoned. In the dark of the alleyway Philip trembled, his blood pulsing in his ears as a man with the crowbar looked on. “Move along, there’s nothing to see.” Still the blood pumped loud, Philip’s heart thundering. Another sob whispered at the wood, a scream following, trapped within. “I said move along.” There was a slap of metal against flesh. Philip’s tear-stained eyes closed tight, his warrant card clattering to the floor. Slowly, he turned and stepped away.

(c) Tim Austin 2016

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I’m looking for awesome words to write stories on – tweet them using the hashtag #onewordonestory and I’ll credit you with the inspiration!